Reviews
2018-2019: Sound Waves
Symphony season opens with an ode to the wonders of California's Central Coast
Pianist Alex Berko was commissioned to compose a piece reflecting the scenery and feel of Big Sur. It is part of the Monterey County Symphony's season opener.
Big Sur is clearly one of the greatest spots on earth – a treasure of both natural and cultural wonders. It inspired local composer John Wineglass, who spent time at Glen Deven Ranch at the behest of the Big Sur Land Trust music camp created his Big Sur, the Night Sun, the world premiere of which opened the Monterey County Symphony's 2016-2017 season.
Now comes pianist, composer and arranger Alex Berko, who is the latest to produce a new work under commission from the orchestra to be premiered to open the symphony's 2018-2019 this weekend.
Berko spent a week in residence at the ranch and the experience was transformative.
"It's amazing down there," Berko says. "If you are quiet, you can really get a sense for the importance of Nature as our teacher – how the trees relate to the wind, the wind to the waves – in short, how Nature works."
His piece is called Among Waves, a 15 minute jaunt in which the young composer clearly captures the impetuous and transient nature of the crashing Big Sur surf and of water in general – here one moment, gone the next. Totally unpredictable, yet ironically highly structured, just like Berko's piece itself.
"Most of what I did at the ranch was collect inspiration, through a lot of journaling, meditation and long walks," Berko says. "I also wrote loads of short musical themes and motives almost like footnotes to come back to later in the compositional process."
Also on tap this weekend is a reading of Franz Schubert's gargantuan Symphony No. 9, The Great, the composer's final and which many observers believe to be his best symphonic effort.
A season-opening celebration is planned, as included with any Saturday night concert ticket is the opportunity to attend a bona-fide red carpet opening night party in front of the venue from 6:30-8:00pm. And Berko himself will offer a pre-concert lecture on both his and the Schubert piece inside the theater.
The program repeats Sunday at 3pm in the same venue.
MONTEREY SYMPHONY SOUND WAVES CONCERT 1 WITH ALEX BERKO
8pm Saturday, Oct 20. Sunset Center Theater San Carlos at Ninth avenue Carmel-by-the-Sea. $9-$61.
646-8511
montereysymphony.org